Method, apparatus and system for park call messages

ABSTRACT

There is described a method and telecommunication server for maintaining communication between at least two devices. A first incoming call for a first communication device is received at the communication server. The first incoming call for the first communication device is routed to a second communication device associated with the first communication device. A park data signal is received from the second communication device for placing a call to park. The call is placed to park and a park reminder message is sent to the first communication device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a Continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/870,268 filed Oct. 10, 2007, the entirety of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It has become relatively common for individuals to possess a number ofdifferent devices through which they communicate. For example, a personmay have a home telephone, a wireless telephone, a pager, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), and an office telephone to name a few. With theubiquity of telephone calls routed through servers, new capabilities canbe achieved. Examples of certain capabilities include forwarding callsfrom one device to another device, forwarding calls to voicemailexchanges, and even parking calls to allow the device owner additionaltime within which to connect the call before the call is forwarded tovoicemail.

The disadvantages of the mobility of the population is that increasinglymobile users are generally multitasking with PDA's, email, and textmessaging. Accordingly, it is increasingly frequent for mobile users tobecome distracted after having parked a call, and forget that a calleris holding indefinitely. The parked caller, which may be a customer orclient of the mobile user, is left in a special state of holdindefinitely, and the caller's time is wasted. Frustrated with theamount of time the caller is left in park, the caller may choose tosimply hang up. It is desirable, therefore, to decrease the frequencyfor mobile users to indefinitely place callers in park.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a telecommunication system constructedin accordance with an embodiment disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates a server unit in accordance with an embodimentdisclosed herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates a server unit in accordance with another embodimentdisclosed herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates a processor module in accordance with an embodimentdisclosed herein.

FIG. 5A illustrates another telecommunication system constructed inaccordance with an embodiment disclosed herein.

FIG. 5B illustrates a sample architecture for a remote deviceconstructed in accordance with an embodiment disclosed herein.

FIGS. 5C-5G illustrate examples of the user interface of a remote deviceconstructed in accordance with an embodiment disclosed herein.

FIGS. 6A-6G illustrate embodiments of the operation of a systemconstructed in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein.

FIGS. 7A-7B illustrate further examples of the user interface of aremote device constructed in accordance with an embodiment disclosedherein.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example mobile device constructed inaccordance with an embodiment disclosed herein.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example communication subsystemcomponent of the mobile device in accordance with an embodimentdisclosed herein.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an example node of a wireless network inaccordance with an embodiment disclosed herein.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating components of a host system inone exemplary configuration for use with the wireless network of FIG. 10and the mobile device of FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Example embodiments and applications will now be described. Otherembodiments may be realized and structural or logical changes may bemade to the disclosed embodiments. Although the embodiments disclosedherein have been particularly described as applied to a business oroffice environment, it should be readily apparent that the embodimentsmay be embodied for any use or application having the same or similarproblems. Specific embodiments and applications related to the followingdescription include, but are not limited to, a method of operating acommunication device. The method includes sending a park data signal forplacing a call to park. The method also includes receiving a parkreminder message.

An additional embodiment and application includes a method of operatinga communication server operable to maintain communication between atleast two devices. The method includes the step of placing a call topark. The method also includes the step of sending a park remindermessage.

As is described below, a telecommunication server is also provided. Thetelecommunication server includes a processor configured to place atelephone call to park. The processor is also configured to send a parkmessage.

Another embodiment provides a telecommunication server comprising aprocessor configured to send a park data signal for placing a call topark and receive a park reminder message.

Another application and embodiment provides a telecommunication system.The telecommunication system includes a server and at least one remotedevice registered with the server. The server includes a processorconfigured to send a message to the at least one remote deviceindicating an incoming telephone call and receive a message from the atleast one remote device accepting the incoming telephone call. Theprocessor is also configured to park a previous telephone call and putthe incoming telephone call in voice communication with the at least oneremote device and send a park alert message to the at least one remotedevice after a predetermined length of time has lapsed after theincoming telephone call has been put in voice communication with the atleast one remote device.

An additional embodiment and application includes a method of operatinga telecommunication server and at least one remote device. The methodincludes the steps of detecting an incoming telephone call to thetelecommunication server and sending a message from thetelecommunication server to a first remote device. The method alsoincludes detecting a park message from the first remote device andsending a message to a second remote device after a predetermined amountof time after the detection of the park message.

Embodiments disclosed herein relate to a telecommunication system thatcan selectively establish communications with one of a plurality oftelephony devices after a caller has been placed in park. The systemalso has a processor configured to send a data signal, such as, forexample, electronic mail (email), text messaging, or other forms of datacommunications to one or more remote devices without any userinteraction. The data signal causes a processor and a remote device toexecute a series of steps designed to route and control incoming andoutgoing calls based on user preferences and perform PBX functions fromthe remote device.

A first example embodiment is discussed and illustrated with referenceto its implementation within an office building, multiple officebuildings or other enterprise establishment. In an office building, forexample, personnel are assigned to offices (or cubicles) with eachoffice having an associated telephone. The office devices such astelephones are typically connected to a PBX, exchange, or other callprocessing infrastructure. The PBX allows each office telephone to haveits own telephone extension and a direct inward dial (DID) telephonenumber. A telephone extension is typically a three, four or five digittelephone number where station-to-station (i.e., office-to-office) callscan be placed by dialing the three, four or five digit extension. Thisis commonly referred to as direct extension dialing. A DID telephonenumber allows external calls (i.e., calls initiated outside of theoffice PBX) to be placed directly to the office telephone.

The embodiments disclosed are not to be limited to any particularenvironment or communications network. The embodiments may beimplemented, for example, in a hotel, boarding house, dormitory,apartment, or other commercial or residential establishment, whereindividuals are assigned to a unique extension, DID telephone number orother identifier. Other embodiments can be based on other environmentswhere a network is maintained. The term “office” as used hereinencompasses a singular room or space within a business, otherenterprise, hotel room or similar facility. The term “user” as usedherein encompasses office personnel, hotel guests or other individualsassociated with a telephone extension and DID telephone number.

The embodiments disclosed, moreover, are not to be limited to anyparticular type of communications. A person of skill in the art wouldunderstand that a communications network can accommodate one or moretypes of communications including telephony, multi media telephony,messaging based on data such as text, video clips, pictures, documentsand others. Moreover, depending on the type of devices andcommunications used, it would be apparent to those skilled in the artthat the users may be assigned to identifiers in addition to extensionsand DID telephone numbers, such as URIs, including SIP URIs, email URIs,IM URIs, CPRI, GRUU.

FIG. 1 illustrates a telecommunication system 10 constructed inaccordance with an embodiment disclosed herein. As will be discussedbelow, the system 10 provides for a full integration of remote telephonydevices, such as a remote device 70 (shown in this example as a personaldigital assistant (PDA) with wireless voice and data communications(also referred to herein as a mobile device)), into an office,enterprise or hotel PBX or other communications network. The remotedevice 70 may be any suitable wirelessly enabled handheld remote device.The remote device 70 may be a dual mode (simultaneous data and voicecommunication capabilities) or single mode communication device,personal digital assistant, etc. such as the device 800 described infurther detail below in relation to FIG. 8. Such devices includeBlackberry™ devices by Research In Motion Limited of Ontario, Canada, orPalm® Treo™ devices by Palm, Inc. of California, U.S.A. to name a few.

The system 10 can selectively establish communications with one of aplurality of devices, including one or more remote devices 70,associated with a particular telephone extension or DID telephonenumber. Moreover, the system 10 will allow remote devices 70 such as amobile device (described below in more detail) to perform functions of astandard office telephone 12 a, 12 b for both inbound and outboundcommunications. That is, a remote device 70 will be able to use featuresof the office network (e.g., direct extension dialing, corporate dialingplan, enterprise voicemail etc.) even though the device is not withinthe confines of the office nor directly connected to the office network(such as an office PBX). The system 10 also allows the remote device 70to operate as an independent PDA, wireless telephone, etc. if sodesired. That is, the remote device 70 may receive calls placed to its(non-office) DID telephone number even though the system 10 also routesPBX calls to the device 70. In addition, the system 10 essentiallyimplements all or part of call management functions typically availableon a device that is part of an office, enterprise or hotel PBX or othercommunications network. Some of these features are discussed in detailbelow.

The system 10 as particularly illustrated herein includes a conventionaloffice PBX network 11. The PBX network 11 may include a plurality ofstandard telephones 12 a, 12 b respectively connected to a conventionalPBX/IP-PBX 14 via communication lines 18 a, 18 b. Although PBX network11 may use a PBX or IP-PBX 14, the following disclosure will simplyrefer to PBX 14 for convenience purposes. The PBX 14 is connected to acalling network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 16 bya primary rate interface (PRI) connection 20 or other suitablecommunication line or medium. The standard telephones 12 a, 12 b can beany digital or analog telephone or other communication device known inthe art. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the first telephone 12 a is a digitaltelephone while the second telephone 12 b is an analog telephone. Forclarity purposes only, two telephones 12 a, 12 b are illustrated in FIG.1, but it should be appreciated that any number or combination oftelephones or other communication devices can be supported by the system10. Moreover, although it is desirable to use digital telephones, theembodiments are not to be limited to the particular type of telephoneused in the system 10.

The PBX 14 is coupled to a server 30 constructed in accordance with anembodiment discussed in more detail below. The server 30 is connected tothe PBX 14 in this embodiment by a PRI connection 22, VoIP connection 24(if PBX 14 is an IP-PBX), or other suitable communication medium (e.g.,WiFi connection). The server 30 is also connected to a PSTN 54 by a PRIconnection or other suitable digital communication medium. Theillustrated PRI connection between the server 30 and the PSTN 54includes a first PRI connection 32, a channel service unit (CSU) 34, anda second PRI connection 36. A CSU is a mechanism for connecting acomputer (or other device) to a digital medium that allows a customer toutilize their own equipment to retime and regenerate incoming signals.It should be appreciated that the illustrated connection between theserver 30 and the PSTN 54 is one of many suitable connections.Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed should not be limited to theillustrated connection. The server 30 is one of the mechanisms thatallows the integration of remote devices (e.g., mobile device 70) intothe PBX network 11 and its operation will be described below in moredetail. Moreover the server 30 maintains control over inbound, outgoingand inprogress calls and communications.

The server 30 is preferably connected to a local area network (LAN) 40by an appropriate communication medium 38. Although a LAN 40 isillustrated, it should be appreciated that any other network, be itwired or wireless or a combination thereof, could be used. A pluralityof computers (e.g., 42 a, 42 b) may be respectively connected to the LAN40 by any appropriate communication lines 44 a, 44 b. The computers 42a, 42 b can be used by network administrators or others to maintainserver 30 and other portions of the system 10. The LAN 40 may also beconnected to the Internet 50 by a suitable communication medium 48. Afirewall 46 may be used for security purposes. In accordance with anembodiment, Internet 50 can be used to allow a remote administrationdevice 52 (e.g., a personal computer) to perform remote administrationof server 30 by office personnel or other authorized users of the system10. Remote administration will allow office personnel to set userpreferences for particular telephone extensions. Thus, each officetelephone extension and associated remote device is individuallyconfigurable.

PSTN 54 is connected in this embodiment to a commercial wireless carrier(or other carrier not co-located with the system 10) by a wirelessswitch 58 or other wireless carrier equipment by an appropriatecommunication medium 56. The wireless switch 58 is connected to at leastone antenna 60 (by an appropriate communication medium 62) fortransmitting signals 64 to a wireless remote device 70. The wirelessremote device 70 could also be a pager, wireless telephone, cellulartelephone, or other wireless communication device. It may be desirablefor the remote device 70 to be capable of handling both (or either)digital and analog communication signals. It should be noted that anytype of wireless communication protocol (or a combination of differentprotocols), such as TDMA, CDMA, GSM, AMPS, MSR, iDEN, WAP, WiFi, etc.,could be used.

It should be appreciated that the server 30 can be connected to awireless carrier through a PSTN 54 and not by unique hardware or anin-office cellular network. As a result, server 30 only has to interfacewith conventional components, such as the PBX 14 and PSTN 54. Thus, thesystem 10 can be substantially technology independent. Moreover, specialwireless devices are not required, which allows the remote device 70 tofunction in its conventional manner (e.g., as a separate mobile device)and as part of the PBX network 11 (if so desired). The PSTN 54 e.g.,will send calls placed to the DID phone numbers associated with the PBXextensions to the server where the server 30 resolves the called numberand performs the call processing discussed below.

The server 30 and the PBX 14 may also be connected to anaccounting/billing system 80. The billing system 80 may also beconnected to the LAN 40 so that system administrators may access thecontents of the billing system 80. By incorporating a billing system 80into the system 10, it is possible to obtain immediate billinginformation for calls placed to/from the remote device 70 or otherremote device. This immediate billing feature is not present in othercommunication networks such as office PBXs or enterprise networks and isparticularly useful for corporate environments such as law firms andgovernment agencies, and hotel environments, where up to date billinginformation is essential.

As noted above, the server 30 allows for the full integration of remotedevices into the PBX network 11. In accordance with an embodiment,server 30 is a processor-based stand-alone unit capable of handlingcommunications directed to the PBX network 11. In a first embodiment,shown in FIG. 2, server 30 comprises a plurality of receiving andtransmitting modules 220 a, 220 b, 220 c, first and second buses 275,285, at least one processor module (Processor Obj) 250, a networkinterface card 240 and a memory module operable to comprise a database270 such as for example, a relational database management system(RDBMS). Further, server 30 can include a web-based user interface (UI)processor module 265, a SIP proxy server module 280 and a plurality offlop files 290 a, 290 b, 290 c. The processor, UI and SIP proxy servermodules 250, 265, 280 can be implemented, separately, or together, asone or more processor cards (example hardware components of these cardsare described below in more detail with reference to FIG. 4) containingsource code, object modules, scripts, or other programming to performthe following functions.

The SIP proxy server module 280 receives session initiation protocol(SIP) messages from user agents and acts on their behalf in forwardingor responding to those messages. In essence, the SIP proxy server module280 is a gateway for IP-based interfaces to the server 30. The SIP proxyserver module 280 also adds services, features and scalability to SIPnetworks. The SIP proxy server module 280 typically includes aregistration service and a SIP location database, in addition to the SIPproxy.

Server 30 can receive an incoming call 210 and/or place an outgoing call215 (described below in more detail). The processor module 250, amongother things, directs and instructs the call processing of the server30. The memory module comprising database 270 is used for storing userpreferences and other pertinent information and may be a separate cardor included within one of the other modules. The memory module may alsobe located external to the server 30, if desired, and connected to theserver 30 by any wired or wireless communication medium.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example processor card 400, which may be used forthe processor, UI and SIP proxy server modules 250, 265, 280,respectively. The card 400 includes a processor 460 for executing theprocesses of processor module 250 (or the other modules) thatcommunicates with various other devices of the card 400 over a bus 450.These devices may include random access memory (RAM) 420, read-onlymemory (ROM) 430 and non-volatile memory 440. An input/output device(I/O) 410 provides communication into and out of the card 400. While oneinput/output device 410 is shown, there may be multiple I/O devicesincluded on the card as desired. Source code, or other programming,comprising applications required by or performed by the components ofthe server 30 may be stored on one of the computer readable storagemedia on the card 400 (e.g., ROM 430, non-volatile memory 440) andexecuted by the processor 460.

Referring now to FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the processor module 250 executesone or more computer programs or applications (Obj) stored in one ormore memory units within (e.g., as shown in FIG. 4) or coupled to theprocessor module 250. Processor module 250 can include one or moreprocesses such as a modified VxML 260 call flow process, business logicprocess 255, call service function (CSF) process 245, and a globalapplication processing interface (API) process 235. It should beappreciated that processor module 250 can include one, all, or anycombination of the processes described. The processor module 250 mayalso contain one or more additional databases and/or other processingmemory used during the overall operation of system 10.

In one embodiment, the business logic process 255 can be used fordetermining whether or not a calling party (incoming or outgoing) is aparticipant of the server 30 network and allows the server 30 to beflexibly configured by providing routing plans and route translations,Interactive Voice Response (IVR) prompting and announcements, datamanipulation, management and control. In another embodiment, thebusiness logic 255 provides an intelligent call routing function(described below in more detail). The UI module 265 includes processesthat provide an easy, but powerful, user interface to administer,configure and manage applications including the management of system,user, conference, notification, IVR and voicemail applications, to namea few.

The plurality of receiving and transmitting modules 220 a, 220 b, 220 ccommunicate with and handle incoming and outgoing telephone calls andare connected along bus 285. In one embodiment, bus 285 is an H100 orsimilar bus. The receiving and transmitting modules 220 a, 220 b, 220 cmay be telephonic cards such as e.g., Intel Dialogic cards, thatcommunicate with processor module 250, database 270 and other componentsvia bus 275 (for example, a PCI bus), which is bridged to bus 285(bridge not shown), and are employed to receive and transmit informationto the PBX 14 and PSTN 54 during call processing. The modules 220 a, 220b, 220 c also receive and transmit other information such asadministrative information. In another embodiment as shown in FIG. 3,the receiving and transmitting modules 220 a, 220 b, 220 c can also beimplemented as a processor module 320 such as e.g., a Host MediaProcessing (HMP) processor having a memory 330 comprising a programthat, when executed, causes the processor 320 to perform the desiredtelephony functions.

In one embodiment, the workload performed by the receiving andtransmitting modules 220 a, 220 b, 220 c, as well as some of theprocessing functions of processor module 250, are implemented using oneor more conventional processor-based programmable telephony interfacecircuit cards (e.g., Intel Dialogic cards) used to interface server 30with PBX 14 and the PSTN. The cards are programmed to perform theconventional telephony services required to place and receive calls, aswell as being programmed to perform the unique call processing functionsdescribed below.

The server 30 preferably contains a database of office extension numbers(also referred to herein as PBX extensions) and DID telephone numbersassociated with each existing PBX extension, the DID numbers beingassociated with one or more devices including one or more remote devices70. The database will be stored on a computer readable storage medium,which may be part of (e.g., database 270) or connected to the server 30.The database may also contain a server-to-PBX extension (hereinafterreferred to as a “SERVER-PBX extension”) and one or more remote devicetelephone numbers associated with each PBX extension. In the illustratedembodiment, software running on the telephony modules 220 a, 220 b, 220c interfaces with the database to perform the various call processingfunctions discussed below.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the PBX 14 contains acoordinated dialing plan (CDP) steering table. The CDP steering tablewill be stored and retrieved from a computer readable storage medium,which may be part of or connected to the PBX 14. The CDP steering tabledirects the routing of some or all PBX extensions to the server 30 overthe PRI 22 and VoIP 24 connections between the server 30 and the PBX 14.In addition, the CDP steering table of the PBX 14 directs the routing ofall SERVER-PBX extensions received from the server 30 to the appropriateoffice telephone.

FIG. 5A illustrates another example of a telecommunication system 10 aconstructed in accordance with another embodiment. System 10 a comprisesPBX 14, which is connected to server 30, including processor module 250and database 270, via a PRI connection 230. As stated above, PBX 14could also be an IP-PBX and thus, there can also be a VoIP connectionbetween the server and PBX 14. There can also be a wireless connection(e.g., WiFi) if desired. Server 30 also includes components from FIG. 2or 3 as desired, but the components are not illustrated for conveniencepurposes. The server 30 is connected to remote device 70 via a hostsystem 480, network 1024 and wireless network (WDN) 850 (all of whichare described in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 10 and 11). Itshould be appreciated that the communications between the server 30,host system 480 and remote device 70 may be encrypted to render theinformation in the communications (i.e., telephone numbers, user loginidentifications, system information and settings, etc.) indecipherableto the public. Although the use of encryption is desirable, the decisionof whether encryption is to be used may be left up to the end user orsystem administrator of the remote device 70, host system 480 and/orserver 30. The host system 480 can include a web services connection(i.e., for the Internet) to provide an interface between the server 30and remote device 70. The host system 480 can also include a mobile dataserver (e.g., server 1174 of FIG. 11) for facilitating datacommunications between the server 30 and remote device 70. A PSTN 54 isalso in communication with the server 30 and remote device 70.

The processor module 250 of the server 30 executes one or more programsstored in its associated memory to process calls received through thePBX 14 or PSTN 54. The remote device 70 will also contain a “client”application designed to communicate with the server 30 and perform thefollowing processing in accordance with embodiments described herein. Asuitable application architecture for the remote device 70 is disclosedin provisional application Ser. No. 60/852,639, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety. A summary of the applicationarchitecture is now provided.

FIG. 5B illustrates a sample architecture for remote device 70. Theillustrated embodiment includes a generic presentation layer 541, devicespecific presentation layer 542, application logic 543, generic devicecontrol 544 and device specific device control 545. In general, thegeneric presentation layer 541 controls keypad and display functions.The device specific presentation layer 542 controls features specific tothe device 70. For example, depending on the remote device 70, thefeatures could include interfacing with a track wheel, track ball, ortouch screen to name a few.

In the illustrated embodiment, the device 70 typically includes a screenwith reasonable resolution and basic graphical capabilities. The device70 will also have a basic user input system such as e.g., function keys,reduced or full-size keyboard, and/or a graphical input capability(e.g., touch screen). The device 70 will further include a datacommunications interface for one or more of GPRS/EGPRS, 1XRTT/EVDO,802.11A/B/G, WiMAX, to name a few. The application running on the device70 is designed as a generic application that has the capability toutilize the inherent interfaces of the device 70 (e.g., screen, inputsystem and data communications).

The client application utilizes standard API's and built-in capabilitiesof the e.g., J2ME environment for the management of data presentation(layer 541) & device control (control 544). These standard capabilitiesallow for a level of generic data presentation, data input control anddata messaging such as e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, SMS, to name a few. Inaddition, each device manufacturer can also provide device specificAPI's, controls and/or capabilities that allow for greater integrationto the device (i.e., device specific presentation layer 542, devicespecific device control 545). These are typically included as librariesthat can be built, linked or packaged with the client application. Thesedevice specific controls include, but are not limited to, such featuresas e.g., thumbwheel control, track ball control, phone book access andcontrols, security controls and extensions and proprietary or devicespecific message controls.

The application logic 543 manages the inputs and outputs to and from thedevice 70 and processes this information in a ubiquitous way to providethe generic device client capabilities such as e.g., administration,inbound call management, outbound call management and mid-call (or callin progress) management. The application logic 543 is written in a wayto abstract this logic from the device specific interfaces so all thefunctionality will work across all the devices supported. As new/futuredevices become supported, the differences between the clientapplications is minimized.

It should be appreciated that the interaction between remote device 70and server 30 can include any call processing telephony functions suchas simultaneous ring across multiple devices, single voicemail box,universal voice mail notification, answer acknowledgement, making andreceiving a call, abbreviating extension dialing, call hold andretrieval, multiple call appearance, direct inward/outward dialing, postdigit dialing, flexible dialing plans/international dialing, caller ID(name, number), voicemail notification, auto reconnect, callback, callforwarding, call transfer, call hold, call waiting, call mute, callblocking, call redial, call parking, speed dial, operator assisteddialing, Do Not Disturb (DND) i.e., forward calls to voicemail insteadof the user, DND Bypass List (i.e., a list of names/numbers allowed tobypass the do not disturb feature), and DND Ignore List (i.e., a list ofnames/numbers to always divert to voicemail).

In accordance with an embodiment, the database of server 30 may alsocontain numerous system-defined user access rights and user modifiablepreferences, which can alter the call processing described herein.Referring back to FIG. 1, an office administrator may use the networkcomputers 42 a, 42 b or a remote administration device 52 to set useraccess rights and priorities. The user may use the remote administrationdevice 52 or any device to set numerous user preferences. It isdesirable that a Web-based or graphical user interface be used so thatthe user can easily access and set user preferences. The networkcomputers 42 a, 42 b (or remote device 52) may also be used by the userif so desired.

It should be appreciated that the system could utilize “voice over IP”communications (i.e., voice over a data network) with appropriate remotedevices. Many of today's wireless telephones and PDA's have the abilityto place and receive cellular and data (voice over IP) telephone callsand to access the Internet or other data network. It should beappreciated that any conventional remote device could be used withsystem.

Similar to system 10, system 10 a essentially implements all or part ofcall management functions typically available on a device that is partof an office, enterprise or hotel PBX or other communications network.Some of these features are discussed in detail below. Moreover, as willbecome apparent from the various call flow processes described in detailbelow, the server 30 maintains control over inbound, outgoing andin-progress calls and communications. In accordance with exampleembodiments, FIGS. 6A-6G illustrate the basic call processing flows thatthe server 30 (via processor module 250), host system 480 and remotedevice 70 may be programmed to handle and execute.

Referring to FIG. 6A, as shown in scenarios 100 and 102, initially aremote device 70 attempts to log into server 30 by sending a sessionrequest login data signal to the server 30 (flow lines 100 a, 102 a). Inscenario 100, the user is communicating using remote device 70. Forpurposes of the illustrated examples, it is presumed that device 70 is adual mode device capable of simultaneous voice and data communications.Device 70 could therefore be a remote device 70 capable of voicecommunications, a landline office telephone 12 a, 12 b or otherwired/wireless telephony device capable of voice communications. Inother embodiments, device 70, could be a single mode remote device 70capable of communicating using either cellular voice services or dataservices at one time. In further embodiments, device 70 can also performsimultaneous communications using multiple radios.

As is described in more detail below, the message from the remote device70 is sent through system 480 by any of the various supported methods.In response, the server 30 will either send a data signal to accept thelogin request (flow line 100 b) (i.e., sends a session response acceptdata signal) or reject the login request (flow line 102 b) (i.e., sendsa session response reject data signal). The signals and the messages canbe in the form of e.g., a voice signal, a DTMF tone, an SMS message, orany other form of a signal or message supported by device 70, system 480and server 30. If the device 70 is accepted by the server 30, the userhas access to server 30 and the ability to process calls in any of themethods described below. It should be appreciated that the login requestmay be performed automatically (e.g., every time the device 70 ispowered-up, or periodically), it may happen manually when the userselects a predetermined device application, or it may happenautomatically or manually in response to a request from the server 30.

FIG. 5C shows an example of a user interface on the remote device 70allowing the user to perform the login process. As illustrated, the usermay be prompted for a user identification (Userid) 546 and then apassword or personal identification number (PIN) 547 associated with theUserid. The keypad or track wheel may be used to enter the requiredinformation. It should be appreciated that FIG. 5C is just one exampleof how the user may interface with the remote device to initiate thelogin process.

At the end of a session or after a predetermined time period, as shownin scenario 103, the server 30 sends a session request logout datasignal to the remote device 70 (flow line 103 a). The remote device 70responds with a session response accept data signal accepting the logoutrequest from the server 30 (flow line 103 b). It should be noted thatthe server 30 is initially programmed to require the remote device 70 tologin about every 24 hours. The user (via device 70 and as shown below)or a server administrator (via server 30) can change this timing, aswell as other system features and settings.

Remote device 70 and server 30 can periodically or continuously requestinformation from each other using data signals as shown in FIG. 6B. Inscenario 105, remote device 70 provides a session request heartbeat datasignal to server 30 (flow line 105 a) periodically or continuously (asset by default, user setting or system setting), which is acknowledgedby server 30 in a session response acknowledge data signal (flow line105 b). In scenario 107, the server 30 sends an informational updaterequest data signal to remote device 70 (flow line 107 a), which isacknowledged by the device 70 in an update response acknowledge datasignal (flow line 107 b). Update signals from server 30 can includeprofile information, system settings, messages, etc.

In scenario 109, the remote device 70 sends an informational updaterequest data signal to server 30 (flow line 109 a) that is acknowledgedby the server 30 in an update response acknowledge data signal (flowline 109 b). Update signals from the remote device 70 can includeprofile information, Do Not Disturb information (DND), user preferences,device configuration settings, etc.

In scenario 104, as shown in FIG. 6C, a user can accept an incoming callplaced to a PBX extension or DID telephone number by a caller (e.g.,caller1). Server 30 receives an incoming voice call from the callingparty (flow line 104 a). Server 30 sends a call setup request datasignal to the remote device 70 (flow line 104 b) inquiring whether ornot the user would like to accept the call. The call setup request datasignal will cause an audible, visual and or vibrational indication tooccur on the remote device 70 (as set by a user or system preference).For example, the call setup request data signal may cause the remotedevice 70 to play a ring, ring tone or other suitable audibleindication. The call setup request data signal may cause the device 70to display a textual or graphical message, pop-up or other visualnotification (e.g., blinking LED on the device 70). FIG. 5D illustratesa textual message “Incoming Call from Jane Doe 123-456-7890” to alertthe user of the caller. User responses may include, e.g., “answer” or“deflect”. FIG. 5D illustrates options 555, which the user may select atthis point. In scenario 104, the user chooses to answer the call byhaving the device 70 send a call setup response answer data signal tothe server 30 (flow line 104 c). This may be performed by selecting“accept” from the options 555 illustrated in FIG. 5D. In response, theserver 30 will setup a voice call to the remote device (voice signalflow line 104 d) and substantially seamlessly connect the callingparty's incoming call to the remote device 70 via PSTN connection 450(shown as voice signal flow line 104 e). The user's acceptance or denialcan be a manual input operation or automatic operation based onprogrammed user interfaces.

In scenario 106, the user of the remote device 70 wishes to deflect theinbound call to voicemail. In this scenario, server 30 receives anincoming voice call from the calling party (flow line 106 a). Server 30sends a call setup request data signal to the remote device 70 (flowline 106 b) inquiring whether or not the user would like to accept thecall. One or more of the above mentioned visual, audible and/orvibrational indications will be present at the remote device 70. Theuser chooses to deflect the call by having the device 70 send a callsetup response deflect data signal to the server 30 (flow line 106 c).This may be performed by selecting “send to voicemail” from the options555 illustrated in FIG. 5D. In response, the server 30 will setup avoice call to e.g., the voicemail box associated with the user's PBXextension or other voicemail box setup by the user (voice signal flowline 106 d). The server 30 connects the held calling party's incomingcall to the voicemail box via PSTN connection 450 (shown as voice signalflow lines 106 e and 106 f). The calling party communicates via PSTNconnection 450 with the user's voicemail via a connection path betweenthe calling party and server 30 (flow line 106 e), and anotherconnection path between server 30 and the voicemail (flow line 106 f).

FIG. 5E illustrates a textual message “Incoming Call from Jane Doe123-456-7890” to alert the user of the remote device 70 of the call,similar to the textual message of FIG. 5D. User responses may include,e.g., “accept” or “park.” FIG. 5E illustrates option 557, by which theuser may select to “park” the call instead of answering the call. Inscenario 108, as shown in FIG. 6D, server 30 receives an incoming voicecall from the calling party (flow line 108 a). Server 30 sends a callsetup request data signal to the remote device 70 (flow line 108 b)inquiring whether or not the user would like to accept the call. One ormore of the above mentioned visual, audible and/or vibrationalindications will be present at the remote device 70. The user chooses topark the call by having the device 70 send a call setup response parkdata signal to the server 30 (flow line 108 c). This may be performed,e.g., by selecting “park” 557 illustrated in FIG. 5E. In response, theserver 30 will setup a park alert connection to the caller (flow line108 d), and output an audible tone voice message and/or music to alertthe caller of the caller's parked status.

In the event that the user of remote device 70 becomes distracted and/orforgets that the caller has been placed in park, the server 30 sends apark reminder data message 108 e to the remote device 70 to remind theuser that a caller is currently placed in park. The remote device 70acknowledges the park reminder message by sending a park remindermessage response (flow line 108 f). The acknowledgement can beautomatically generated by the device 70 upon receiving the parkreminder message 108 e or can be in response to a user action initiatedthereafter. Moreover, as described below, the park reminder message 122e can also result in the device 70 performing specific functionsgenerating certain alerts.

The park reminder data message may be sent automatically in response toeach park reminder message received. Alternatively, the park data signalmay include a request for park reminder messages to be sent as part ofthe signal. The server 30 may send the park reminder message 108 e aftera predetermined time has passed after the user has parked the call; thelength of the predetermined time may be controlled by the user'spreference. For example, the park reminder message 108 e may be sentafter 10, 30, 45, or 60 seconds after the user has parked the caller. Inaddition, or alternatively, the park reminder message can include anindication of the predetermined length of time a parked call has beenplaced in park (e.g., 10, 30, 45, or 60 seconds). It should be notedthat the predetermined times provided are merely examples and that thepredetermined times may be set by the user or the system administrator.Moreover, the server 30 can periodically send the park reminder message108 e at the predetermined rate until Party 2 is un-parked (describedbelow). The user preferences may be directly specified at the server 30,or the preferences may be communicated as part of the park data signal.Moreover, the preferences can also be specified or updated as part ofthe park reminder message response. Additionally, the park remindermessage response may also include a request for terminating the sendingof park reminder message 108 e. In addition, or alternatively, the parkreminder message may including an indication of the predetermined lengthof time discussed above or an accumulated time that the call has beenparked.

In scenario 112, as shown in FIG. 6E, a caller (party 1) is in voicecommunication with the server 30, which is in voice communication withthe remote device 70, thereby allowing a conversation (flow line 112 a)to occur between the caller (party 1) and the remote device 70. In theevent that the server 30 receives an incoming voice call from a secondcalling party (party 2), shown as flow line 112 b, the server 30 sends acall setup request data signal to the remote device 70 (flow line 112 c)inquiring whether or not the user would like to accept the call. Theuser response may park the call, as discussed above with respect toFIGS. 5E and 6D (flow line 112 d), and continue the voice communicationwith the first caller (party 1), shown as flow line 112 e. In response,the server 30 will setup a park alert connection to the caller (flowline 112 f), and output an audible tone, voice message and/or music toalert the caller of the caller's parked status.

In the event that the user becomes distracted and/or forgets that thesecond caller (party 2) has been placed in park, the server 30 sends apark data message 112 g to the remote device 70 to remind the user thatthe second caller (party 2) is currently parked. The remote device 70acknowledges the park reminder message by sending a park remindermessage response (flow line 112 h). The acknowledgement can beautomatically generated by the device 70 upon receiving the parkreminder message 112 g or can be in response to a user action initiatedthereafter. Moreover, as described below, the park reminder message 112g can also result in the device 70 performing specific functions forgenerating certain alerts. The server 30 may send the park remindermessage 112 g after a predetermined time, as discussed above withrespect to FIG. 6D. Moreover, the server 30 will periodically send thepark reminder message 112 g at the predetermined rate until Party 2 isun-parked (described below).

In scenario 114, as shown in FIG. 6E, a caller (party 1) is in voicecommunication with the server 30, which is in voice communication withthe remote device 70, thereby allowing a conversation (flow line 114 a)to occur between the caller (party 1) and the remote device 70. In theevent that the server 30 receives an incoming voice call from a secondcalling party (party 2), shown as flow line 114 b, the server 30 sends acall setup request data signal to the remote device 70 (flow line 114 c)inquiring whether or not the user would like to accept the call. Theuser response may be to accept the call, as discussed above with respectto FIGS. 5E and 6D (flow line 114 d), and to park the first caller(party 1), shown as flow line 114 e. The remote device 70 is in voicecommunication through the server 30 with the second caller (party 2),shown as flow lines 114 f and 114 g.

In the event that the user becomes distracted and/or forgets that thefirst caller (party 1) has been placed in park, the server 30 sends apark reminder message 114 h to the remote device 70 to remind the userthat the first caller (party 1) is currently placed in park. The remotedevice 70 acknowledges the park reminder message by sending a parkreminder message response (flow line 114 i). The acknowledgement can beautomatically generated by the device 70 upon receiving the parkreminder message 114 h or can be in response to a user action initiatedthereafter. Moreover, as described below, the park reminder message 114h can also result in the device 70 performing specific functionsgenerating certain alerts. The server 30 may send the park remindermessage 114 h after a predetermined time, as discussed above withrespect to FIG. 6D, which may be periodically sent until the caller isun-parked.

In scenario 122, shown in FIG. 6F, a caller (party 1) dials the phonenumber associated with the remote device 70, which is routed via theserver 30. In the illustrated scenario, the server 30 routes the call tothe remote device 70 to a second device such as, for example, an officetelephone 12 a (FIG. 1). The second device could also be any otherlandline phone registered in the user's user profile.

As shown by flow line 122 a, the caller (party 1) and the officetelephone 12 a are in voice communication. A user may park the call bypressing a key that generates a tone on the office telephone 12 a, asshown by flow line 122 b. The use of a key press to park the call isexemplary only and, as will be apparent to a person of skill in the artthat any variety of methods of parking a call can be employed. The parktone is accepted and acknowledged by the server 30, as shown by flowline 122 c. In response, the server 30 will setup a park alertconnection to the caller (flow line 122 d), and output a tone, voicemessage and/or music to alert the caller of the caller's parked status.

In the event that the user walks away from his office telephone 12 a,and/or forgets that the caller (party 1) has been parked, the server 30sends a park reminder message (flow line 122 e) to the user's remotedevice 70 to remind the user that the caller (party 1) is currentlyparked. The remote device 70 acknowledges the park reminder message bysending a park reminder message response (flow line 122 f). Theacknowledgement can be automatically generated by the device 70 uponreceiving the park reminder message 122 e or can be in response to auser action initiated thereafter. Moreover, as described below, the parkreminder message 122 e can also result in the device 70 performingspecific functions generating certain alerts. The server 30 may send thepark reminder message 122 e after a predetermined time, as discussedabove with respect to FIG. 6D, which may be periodically sent until thecaller is un-parked.

FIG. 6G illustrates one embodiment of removing a caller from park to setup a voice communication with the un-parked caller. As discussed above,when a user places a call in park, the server 30 may send a park alertsuch as, for example, music (flow line 124 a) to the parked party; oncea user desires to remove the caller (caller 1) from park, a key or aseries of keys on the remote device can be selected to send an outdialrequest (flow line 124 b) to the server 30. FIG. 5F illustrates oneembodiment by which a user can select “callback” 559 on the remotedevice 70, which sends an outdial request 124 b to the server 30.

The server 30 accepts and acknowledges the outdial request 124 b bysending an outdial response to the remote device 70 (flow line 124 c).The server 30 then sends a voice communication to the remote device 70(flow line 124 d). The server 30 also stops the park alert (e.g., music)that is communicated to the caller (flow line 124 e). The caller(caller 1) and the remote device 70 are then in voice communication viathe server 30 (flow line 124 f), and the caller that was placed in parkcan now have a conversation with the user of the remote device 70.

In the event that more than one caller is placed in park, as discussedabove with respect to FIG. 6E, the user of the remote device 70 mayselect the callers from a list of callers that is depicted on the remotedevice. For example, FIG. 5G illustrates one embodiment by which a list601 of callers is depicted, and the user may select (in this example)“Bob James” from a list of callers that have been parked. Once selected,the remote device 70, the caller (caller 1), and the server 30 are allin communication with one another, as discussed above with respect toFIG. 6G. It should be noted that the connection to one or more of theparked calls may be made automatically or manually, which can be set byuser preferences or the administrator.

The user is also capable of placing outgoing calls from the remotedevice 70 through the server 30 (and thus, for example the PBX) in thefollowing exemplary manner. If a user wants to place a call to party 1,the user has the remote device 70 send an out dial request data signalto server 30 requesting to place an outbound call through the server 30.Any input mechanism (e.g., keyboard, track wheel, stylus, etc.) may beused to send the out dial request from the remote device 70. Server 30determines from the request whether the user and/or remote device 70 hassufficient rights to place the outbound call. Server 30 will respond bysending an out dial response accept data signal accepting the user'srequest, or by sending an out dial response reject data signal rejectingthe outbound call to remote device 70 depending on the user's rights. Ifserver 30 accepts the outbound call request, the server 30 will place anoutbound voice call to the remote device 70 and another voice call tothe called party (e.g., party 1). The server 30 then substantiallyseamlessly connects the two calls allowing voice communications betweenthe called party and user of the remote device 70.

Like system 10, 10 a also provides additional call processing while acall/connection is already in progress. That is, once a voice callbetween a user of a remote device 70 and another party (“party A”) is inprogress, the server 30 allows e.g., the user to conference in anotherparty (“party B”), place party A on hold while accepting a call from orplacing a call to party B, deflect a call from party B while continuingwith the party A call, to name a few. All of these scenarios arepossible because the server 30 maintains control over the ongoing call.Therefore, if during a call, party B attempts to call the user, server30 will receive the call communication from party B and send a callsetup request data signal to the remote device 70 alerting the device 70to the new call. At this point, the user can send (via the remote device70) a data signal accepting, deflecting or conferencing in the party Bcall. Based on the response, the server 30 makes the necessary callconnections. Likewise, if during the call with party A, the user decidesto call party B, the user can send (via the remote device 70) a datasignal requesting the server 30 to call party B. The server 30 initiatesthe call to party B, and based on the user's request, can place party Aon hold, send party A to voicemail, or join the calls to form aconference call. It should be appreciated that DTMF tones can also beused instead of data signals, if desired.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate embodiments of the functions or alerts thedevice can perform upon receiving a park reminder message (e.g., flowline 108 e of FIG. 6D) sent to the remote device 70 by server 30. Thespecific function to be performed (or the alert type) can be determinedby settings stored within device 70, such settings being modifiable by auser in some embodiments, and by an administrator or provider of device70 in other embodiments. The specific function to perform can also bedetermined on the basis of settings sent by server 30 that are a part ofor accompanying the park reminder message. The determination of whichfunction to use can also be performed on the basis of bothspecifications contained within the device and the specificationsaccompanying or contained within the park reminder message. For example,the device may choose to use the function specified in a park remindermessage if the settings on device 70 have not been initialized so as tocontain a valid specification. In certain embodiments more than onefunction can be specified and performed.

Examples of specific functions or alert types that can be performedinclude a visual indication such as, for example, the flashing of asymbol 555 on the remote device 70, as illustrated in FIG. 7A. As shownin FIG. 7A, a number may be adjacent to the flashing symbol to indicatethe number of calls that have been parked. In addition, oralternatively, another embodiment of a visual indication is illustratedin FIG. 7B, in which a pop-up window 558 menu may be displayed. Thewindow 558 includes a message containing the text “You Have 2 ParkedCalls” and a software button 556. The button 556 allows the user toacknowledge “OK” the visual indication by pressing the button 556 by anyavailable method supported by the device 70 (e.g., via the keypad, trackball, roller wheel, touch screen, etc.). After acknowledging themessage, the device 70 may display the names of the parked individuals,as discussed above with respect to FIG. 5G. Other embodiments of thepark reminder message may include a vibration of the remote device 70,an audible tone sent through the remote device 70, a text messagedisplayed on the face of the remote device 70, or an email messagedisplayed on the face of the remote device 70. These are merelyexamples, and are not intended to be limiting.

In one embodiment, remote device 70 can be implemented as mobile device800, illustrated in FIG. 8. Mobile device 800 is a two-way communicationdevice with advanced data communication capabilities including thecapability to communicate with other mobile devices or computer systemsthrough a network of transceiver stations. The mobile device may alsohave the capability to allow voice communication. Depending on thefunctionality provided by the mobile device, it may be referred to as adata messaging device, a two-way pager, a cellular telephone with datamessaging capabilities, a wireless Internet appliance, or a datacommunication device (with or without telephony capabilities). To aidthe reader in understanding the structure of the mobile device 800 andhow it communicates with other devices and host systems, reference willnow be made to FIGS. 8 through 11.

Referring to FIG. 8, shown therein is a block diagram of an exemplaryembodiment of a mobile device 800. The mobile device 800 includes anumber of components such as a main processor 802 that controls theoverall operation of the mobile device 800. Communication functions,including data and voice communications, are performed through acommunication subsystem 804. The communication subsystem 804 receivesmessages from and sends messages to a wireless network 850. In thisexemplary embodiment of the mobile device 800, the communicationsubsystem 804 is configured in accordance with the Global System forMobile Communication (GSM) and General Packet Radio Services (GPRS)standards. The GSM/GPRS wireless network is used worldwide and it isexpected that these standards will be superseded eventually by EnhancedData GSM Environment (EDGE) and Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsService (UMTS). New standards are still being defined, but it isbelieved that they will have similarities to the network behaviordescribed herein, and it will also be understood by persons skilled inthe art that the embodiments described herein are intended to use anyother suitable standards that are developed in the future. The wirelesslink connecting the communication subsystem 804 with the wirelessnetwork 850 represents one or more different Radio Frequency (RF)channels, operating according to defined protocols specified forGSM/GPRS communications. With newer network protocols, these channelsare capable of supporting both circuit switched voice communications andpacket switched data communications.

Although the wireless network 850 associated with mobile device 800 is aGSM/GPRS wireless network in one exemplary implementation, otherwireless networks may also be associated with the mobile device 800 invariant implementations. The different types of wireless networks thatmay be employed include, for example, data-centric wireless networks,voice-centric wireless networks, and dual-mode networks that can supportboth voice and data communications over the same physical base stations.Combined dual-mode networks include, but are not limited to, CodeDivision Multiple Access (CDMA) or CDMA2000 networks, GSM/GPRS networks(as mentioned above), and future third-generation (3G) networks likeEDGE and UMTS. Some other examples of data-centric networks include WiFi802.11, Mobitex.™ and DataTAC.™ network communication systems. Examplesof other voice-centric data networks include Personal CommunicationSystems (PCS) networks like GSM and Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)systems.

The main processor 802 also interacts with additional subsystems such asa Random Access Memory (RAM) 806, a flash memory 808, a display 810, anauxiliary input/output (I/O) subsystem 812, a data port 814, a keyboard816, a speaker 818, a microphone 820, short-range communications 822 andother device subsystems 824.

Some of the subsystems of the mobile device 800 performcommunication-related functions, whereas other subsystems may provide“resident” or on-device functions. By way of example, the display 810and the keyboard 816 may be used for both communication-relatedfunctions, such as entering a text message for transmission over thenetwork 850, and device-resident functions such as a calculator or tasklist.

The mobile device 800 can send and receive communication signals overthe wireless network 850 after required network registration oractivation procedures have been completed. Network access is associatedwith a subscriber or user of the mobile device 800. To identify asubscriber, the mobile device 800 requires a SIM/RUIM card 826 (i.e.Subscriber Identity Module or a Removable User Identity Module) to beinserted into a SIM/RUIM interface 828 in order to communicate with anetwork. The SIM card or RUIM 826 is one type of a conventional “smartcard” that can be used to identify a subscriber of the mobile device 800and to personalize the mobile device 800, among other things. Withoutthe SIM card 826, the mobile device 800 is not fully operational forcommunication with the wireless network 850. By inserting the SIMcard/RUIM 826 into the SIM/RUIM interface 828, a subscriber can accessall subscribed services. Services may include: web browsing andmessaging such as e-mail, voicemail, Short Message Service (SMS), andMultimedia Messaging Services (MMS). More advanced services may include:point of sale, field service and sales force automation. The SIMcard/RUIM 826 includes a processor and memory for storing information.Once the SIM card/RUIN 826 is inserted into the SIM/RUIM interface 828,it is coupled to the main processor 802. In order to identify thesubscriber, the SIM card/RUIM 826 can include some user parameters suchas an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). An advantage ofusing the SIM card/RUIM 826 is that a subscriber is not necessarilybound by any single physical mobile device. The SIM card/RUIM 826 maystore additional subscriber information for a mobile device as well,including datebook (or calendar) information and recent callinformation. Alternatively, user identification information can also beprogrammed into the flash memory 808.

The mobile device 800 is a battery-powered device and includes a batteryinterface 832 for receiving one or more rechargeable batteries 830. Inat least some embodiments, the battery 830 can be a smart battery withan embedded microprocessor. The battery interface 832 is coupled to aregulator (not shown), which assists the battery 830 in providing powerV+to the mobile device 800. Although current technology makes use of abattery, future technologies such as micro fuel cells may provide thepower to the mobile device 800.

The mobile device 800 also includes an operating system 834 and softwarecomponents 836 to 846 which are described in more detail below. Theoperating system 834 and the software components 836 to 846 that areexecuted by the main processor 802 are typically stored in a persistentstore such as the flash memory 808, which may alternatively be aread-only memory (ROM) or similar storage element (not shown). Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that portions of the operating system834 and the software components 836 to 846, such as specific deviceapplications, or parts thereof, may be temporarily loaded into avolatile store such as the RAM 806. Other software components can alsobe included, as is well known to those skilled in the art.

The subset of software applications 836 that control basic deviceoperations, including data and voice communication applications, willnormally be installed on the mobile device 800 during its manufacture.Other software applications include a message application 838 that canbe any suitable software program that allows a user of the mobile device800 to send and receive electronic messages. Various alternatives existfor the message application 838 as is well known to those skilled in theart. Messages that have been sent or received by the user are typicallystored in the flash memory 808 of the mobile device 800 or some othersuitable storage element in the mobile device 800. In at least someembodiments, some of the sent and received messages may be storedremotely from the device 800 such as in a data store of an associatedhost system that the mobile device 800 communicates with.

The software applications can further include a device state module 840,a Personal Information Manager (PIM) 842, and other suitable modules(not shown). The device state module 840 provides persistence, i.e. thedevice state module 840 ensures that important device data is stored inpersistent memory, such as the flash memory 808, so that the data is notlost when the mobile device 800 is turned off or loses power.

The PIM 842 includes functionality for organizing and managing dataitems of interest to the user, such as, but not limited to, e-mail,contacts, calendar events, voicemails, appointments, and task items. APIM application has the ability to send and receive data items via thewireless network 850. PIM data items may be seamlessly integrated,synchronized, and updated via the wireless network 850 with the mobiledevice subscriber's corresponding data items stored and/or associatedwith a host computer system. This functionality creates a mirrored hostcomputer on the mobile device 800 with respect to such items. This canbe particularly advantageous when the host computer system is the mobiledevice subscriber's office computer system.

The mobile device 800 also includes a connect module 844, and an ITpolicy module 846. The connect module 844 implements the communicationprotocols that are required for the mobile device 800 to communicatewith the wireless infrastructure and any host system, such as anenterprise system, that the mobile device 800 is authorized to interfacewith. Examples of a wireless infrastructure and an enterprise system aregiven in FIGS. 10 and 11, which are described in more detail below.

The connect module 844 includes a set of APIs that can be integratedwith the mobile device 800 to allow the mobile device 800 to use anynumber of services associated with the enterprise system. The connectmodule 844 allows the mobile device 800 to establish an end-to-endsecure, authenticated communication pipe with the host system. A subsetof applications for which access is provided by the connect module 844can be used to pass IT policy commands from the host system to themobile device 800. This can be done in a wireless or wired manner. Theseinstructions can then be passed to the IT policy module 846 to modifythe configuration of the device 800. Alternatively, in some cases, theIT policy update can also be done over a wired connection.

The IT policy module 846 receives IT policy data that encodes the ITpolicy. The IT policy module 846 then ensures that the IT policy data isauthenticated by the mobile device 800. The IT policy data can then bestored in the flash memory 806 in its native form. After the IT policydata is stored, a global notification can be sent by the IT policymodule 846 to all of the applications residing on the mobile device 800.Applications for which the IT policy may be applicable then respond byreading the IT policy data to look for IT policy rules that areapplicable.

The IT policy module 846 can include a parser (not shown), which can beused by the applications to read the IT policy rules. In some cases,another module or application can provide the parser. Grouped IT policyrules, described in more detail below, are retrieved as byte streams,which are then sent (recursively, in a sense) into the parser todetermine the values of each IT policy rule defined within the groupedIT policy rule. In at least some embodiments, the IT policy module 846can determine which applications are affected by the IT policy data andsend a notification to only those applications. In either of thesecases, for applications that aren't running at the time of thenotification, the applications can call the parser or the IT policymodule 846 when they are executed to determine if there are any relevantIT policy rules in the newly received IT policy data.

All applications that support rules in the IT Policy are coded to knowthe type of data to expect. For example, the value that is set for the“WEP User Name” IT policy rule is known to be a string; therefore thevalue in the IT policy data that corresponds to this rule is interpretedas a string. As another example, the setting for the “Set MaximumPassword Attempts” IT policy rule is known to be an integer, andtherefore the value in the IT policy data that corresponds to this ruleis interpreted as such.

After the IT policy rules have been applied to the applicableapplications or configuration files, the IT policy module 846 sends anacknowledgement back to the host system to indicate that the IT policydata was received and successfully applied.

Other types of software applications can also be installed on the mobiledevice 800. These software applications can be third party applications,which are added after the manufacture of the mobile device 800. Examplesof third party applications include games, calculators, utilities, etc.

The additional applications can be loaded onto the mobile device 800through at least one of the wireless network 850, the auxiliary I/Osubsystem 812, the data port 814, the short-range communicationssubsystem 822, or any other suitable device subsystem 824. Thisflexibility in application installation increases the functionality ofthe mobile device 800 and may provide enhanced on-device functions,communication-related functions, or both. For example, securecommunication applications may enable electronic commerce functions andother such financial transactions to be performed using the mobiledevice 800.

The data port 814 enables a subscriber to set preferences through anexternal device or software application and extends the capabilities ofthe mobile device 800 by providing for information or software downloadsto the mobile device 800 other than through a wireless communicationnetwork. The alternate download path may, for example, be used to loadan encryption key onto the mobile device 800 through a direct and thusreliable and trusted connection to provide secure device communication.

The data port 814 can be any suitable port that enables datacommunication between the mobile device 800 and another computingdevice. The data port 814 can be a serial or a parallel port. In someinstances, the data port 814 can be a USB port that includes data linesfor data transfer and a supply line that can provide a charging currentto charge the battery 830 of the mobile device 800.

The short-range communications subsystem 822 provides for communicationbetween the mobile device 800 and different systems or devices, withoutthe use of the wireless network 850. For example, the subsystem 822 mayinclude an infrared device and associated circuits and components forshort-range communication. Examples of short-range communicationstandards include standards developed by the Infrared Data Association(IrDA), Bluetooth, and the 802.11 family of standards developed by IEEE.

In use, a received signal such as a text message, an e-mail message, orweb page download will be processed by the communication subsystem 804and input to the main processor 802. The main processor 802 will thenprocess the received signal for output to the display 810 oralternatively to the auxiliary I/O subsystem 812. A subscriber may alsocompose data items, such as e-mail messages, for example, using thekeyboard 816 in conjunction with the display 810 and possibly theauxiliary I/O subsystem 812. The auxiliary subsystem 812 may includedevices such as: a touch screen, mouse, track ball, infrared fingerprintdetector, or a roller wheel with dynamic button pressing capability. Thekeyboard 816 is preferably an alphanumeric keyboard and/ortelephone-type keypad. However, other types of keyboards may also beused. A composed item may be transmitted over the wireless network 850through the communication subsystem 804.

For voice communications, the overall operation of the mobile device 800is substantially similar, except that the received signals are output tothe speaker 818, and signals for transmission are generated by themicrophone 820. Alternative voice or audio I/O subsystems, such as avoice message recording subsystem, can also be implemented on the mobiledevice 800. Although voice or audio signal output is accomplishedprimarily through the speaker 818, the display 810 can also be used toprovide additional information such as the identity of a calling party,duration of a voice call, or other voice call related information.

Referring to FIG. 9, an exemplary block diagram of the communicationsubsystem component 804 is shown. The communication subsystem 804includes a receiver 950, a transmitter 952, as well as associatedcomponents such as one or more embedded or internal antenna elements 954and 956, Local Oscillators (LOs) 958, and a processing module such as aDigital Signal Processor (DSP) 960. The particular design of thecommunication subsystem 804 is dependent upon the communication network850 with which the mobile device 800 is intended to operate. Thus, itshould be understood that the design illustrated in FIG. 9 serves onlyas one example.

Signals received by the antenna 954 through the wireless network 850 areinput to the receiver 950, which may perform such common receiverfunctions as signal amplification, frequency down conversion, filtering,channel selection, and analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion. A/Dconversion of a received signal allows more complex communicationfunctions such as demodulation and decoding to be performed in the DSP960. In a similar manner, signals to be transmitted are processed,including modulation and encoding, by the DSP 960. These DSP-processedsignals are input to the transmitter 952 for digital-to-analog (D/A)conversion, frequency up conversion, filtering, amplification andtransmission over the wireless network 850 via the antenna 956. The DSP960 not only processes communication signals, but also provides forreceiver and transmitter control. For example, the gains applied tocommunication signals in the receiver 950 and the transmitter 952 may beadaptively controlled through automatic gain control algorithmsimplemented in the DSP 960.

The wireless link between the mobile device 800 and the wireless network850 can contain one or more different channels, typically different RFchannels, and associated protocols used between the mobile device 800and the wireless network 850. An RF channel is a limited resource thatmust be conserved, typically due to limits in overall bandwidth andlimited battery power of the mobile device 800.

When the mobile device 800 is fully operational, the transmitter 952 istypically keyed or turned on only when it is transmitting to thewireless network 850 and is otherwise turned off to conserve resources.Similarly, the receiver 950 is periodically turned off to conserve poweruntil it is needed to receive signals or information (if at all) duringdesignated time periods.

Referring to FIG. 10, a block diagram of an exemplary implementation ofa node 1002 of the wireless network 850 is shown. In practice, thewireless network 850 comprises one or more nodes 1002. In conjunctionwith the connect module 844, the mobile device 800 can communicate withthe node 1002 within the wireless network 850. In the exemplaryimplementation of FIG. 10, the node 1002 is configured in accordancewith General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Global Systems for Mobile(GSM) technologies. The node 1002 includes a base station controller(BSC) 1004 with an associated tower station 1006, a Packet Control Unit(PCU) 1008 added for GPRS support in GSM, a Mobile Switching Center(MSC) 1010, a Home Location Register (HLR) 1012, a Visitor LocationRegistry (VLR) 1014, a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 1016, a GatewayGPRS Support Node (GGSN) 1018, and a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol(DHCP) 1020. This list of components is not meant to be an exhaustivelist of the components of every node 1002 within a GSM/GPRS network, butrather a list of components that are commonly used in communicationsthrough the network 850.

In a GSM network, the MSC 1010 is coupled to the BSC 1004 and to alandline network, such as a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)1022 to satisfy circuit switched requirements. The connection throughthe PCU 1008, the SGSN 1016 and the GGSN 1018 to a public or privatenetwork (Internet) 1024 (also referred to herein generally as a sharednetwork infrastructure) represents the data path for GPRS capable mobiledevices. In a GSM network extended with GPRS capabilities, the BSC 1004also contains the Packet Control Unit (PCU) 1008 that connects to theSGSN 1016 to control segmentation, radio channel allocation and tosatisfy packet switched requirements. To track the location of themobile device 800 and availability for both circuit switched and packetswitched management, the HLR 1012 is shared between the MSC 1010 and theSGSN 1016. Access to the VLR 1014 is controlled by the MSC 1010.

The station 1006 is a fixed transceiver station and together with theBSC 1004 form fixed transceiver equipment. The fixed transceiverequipment provides wireless network coverage for a particular coveragearea commonly referred to as a “cell”. The fixed transceiver equipmenttransmits communication signals to and receives communication signalsfrom mobile devices within its cell via the station 1006. The fixedtransceiver equipment normally performs such functions as modulation andpossibly encoding and/or encryption of signals to be transmitted to themobile device 800 in accordance with particular, usually predetermined,communication protocols and parameters, under control of its controller.The fixed transceiver equipment similarly demodulates and possiblydecodes and decrypts, if necessary, any communication signals receivedfrom the mobile device 800 within its cell. Communication protocols andparameters may vary between different nodes. For example, one node mayemploy a different modulation scheme and operate at differentfrequencies than other nodes.

For all mobile devices 800 registered with a specific network, permanentconfiguration data such as a user profile is stored in the HLR 1012. TheHLR 1012 also contains location information for each registered mobiledevice and can be queried to determine the current location of a mobiledevice. The MSC 1010 is responsible for a group of location areas andstores the data of the mobile devices currently in its area ofresponsibility in the VLR 1014. Further, the VLR 1014 also containsinformation on mobile devices that are visiting other networks. Theinformation in the VLR 1014 includes part of the permanent mobile devicedata transmitted from the HLR 1012 to the VLR 1014 for faster access. Bymoving additional information from a remote HLR 1012 node to the VLR1014, the amount of traffic between these nodes can be reduced so thatvoice and data services can be provided with faster response times andat the same time requiring less use of computing resources.

The SGSN 1016 and the GGSN 1018 are elements added for GPRS support;namely packet switched data support, within GSM. The SGSN 1016 and theMSC 1010 have similar responsibilities within the wireless network 850by keeping track of the location of each mobile device 800. The SGSN1016 also performs security functions and access control for datatraffic on the wireless network 800. The GGSN 1018 providesinternetworking connections with external packet switched networks andconnects to one or more SGSN's 1016 via an Internet Protocol (IP)backbone network operated within the network 850. During normaloperations, a given mobile device 800 must perform a “GPRS Attach” toacquire an IP address and to access data services. This requirement isnot present in circuit switched voice channels as Integrated ServicesDigital Network (ISDN) addresses are used for routing incoming andoutgoing calls. Currently, all GPRS capable networks use private,dynamically assigned IP addresses, thus requiring the DHCP server 1020connected to the GGSN 1018. There are many mechanisms for dynamic IPassignment, including using a combination of a Remote AuthenticationDial-In User Service (RADIUS) server and a DHCP server. Once the GPRSAttach is complete, a logical connection is established from a mobiledevice 800, through the PCU 1008, and the SGSN 1016 to an Access PointNode (APN) within the GGSN 1018. The APN represents a logical end of anIP tunnel that can either access direct Internet compatible services orprivate network connections. The APN also represents a securitymechanism for the network 850, insofar as each mobile device 800 must beassigned to one or more APNs and mobile devices 800 cannot exchange datawithout first performing a GPRS Attach to an APN that it has beenauthorized to use. The APN may be considered to be similar to anInternet domain name such as “myconnection.wireless.com”.

Once the GPRS Attach operation is complete, a tunnel is created and alltraffic is exchanged within standard IP packets using any protocol thatcan be supported in IP packets. This includes tunneling methods such asIP over IP as in the case with some IPSecurity (IPsec) connections usedwith Virtual Private Networks (VPN). These tunnels are also referred toas Packet Data Protocol (PDP) Contexts and there are a limited number ofthese available in the network 850. To maximize use of the PDP Contexts,the network 800 will run an idle timer for each PDP Context to determineif there is a lack of activity. When a mobile device 800 is not usingits PDP Context, the PDP Context can be de-allocated and the IP addressreturned to the IP address pool managed by the DHCP server 1020.

Referring to FIG. 1, shown therein is a block diagram illustratingcomponents of an exemplary configuration of a host system 480 that themobile device 800 can communicate with in conjunction with the connectmodule 844. The host system 480 will typically be a corporate enterpriseor other local area network (LAN), but may also be a home officecomputer or some other private system, for example, in variantimplementations. In this example shown in FIG. 11, the host system 480is depicted as a LAN of an organization to which a user of the mobiledevice 800 belongs. Typically, a plurality of mobile devices cancommunicate wirelessly with the host system 480 through one or morenodes 1002 of the wireless network 850.

The host system 480 comprises a number of network components connectedto each other by a network 1160. For instance, a user's desktop computer1162 a with an accompanying cradle 1164 for the user's mobile device 800is situated on a LAN connection. The cradle 1164 for the mobile device800 can be coupled to the computer 1162 a by a serial or a UniversalSerial Bus (USB) connection, for example. Other user computers 1162b-1162 n are also situated on the network 1160, and each may or may notbe equipped with an accompanying cradle 1164. The cradle 1164facilitates the loading of information (e.g. PIM data, private symmetricencryption keys to facilitate secure communications) from the usercomputer 1162 a to the mobile device 800, and may be particularly usefulfor bulk information updates often performed in initializing the mobiledevice 800 for use. The information downloaded to the mobile device 800may include certificates used in the exchange of messages.

It will be understood by persons skilled in the art that the usercomputers 1162 a-1162 n will typically also be connected to otherperipheral devices, such as printers, etc. which are not explicitlyshown in FIG. 11. Furthermore, only a subset of network components ofthe host system 480 are shown in FIG. 11 for ease of exposition, and itwill be understood by persons skilled in the art that the host system480 will comprise additional components that are not explicitly shown inFIG. 11 for this exemplary configuration. More generally, the hostsystem 480 may represent a smaller part of a larger network (not shown)of the organization, and may comprise different components and/or bearranged in different topologies than that shown in the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 11.

To facilitate the operation of the mobile device 800 and the wirelesscommunication of messages and message-related data between the mobiledevice 800 and components of the host system 480, a number of wirelesscommunication support components 1170 can be provided. In someimplementations, the wireless communication support components 1170 caninclude a message management server 1172, a mobile data server 1174, acontact server 1176, and a device manager module 1178. The devicemanager module 1178 includes an IT Policy editor 1180 and an IT userproperty editor 1182, as well as other software components for allowingan IT administrator to configure the mobile devices 800. In analternative embodiment, there may be one editor that provides thefunctionality of both the IT policy editor 1180 and the IT user propertyeditor 1182. The support components 1170 also include a data store 1184,and an IT policy server 1186. The IT policy server 286 includes aprocessor 1188, a network interface 1190 and a memory unit 1192. Theprocessor 1188 controls the operation of the IT policy server 1186 andexecutes functions related to the standardized IT policy as describedbelow. The network interface 1190 allows the IT policy server 1186 tocommunicate with the various components of the host system 480 and themobile devices 800. The memory unit 1192 can store functions used inimplementing the IT policy as well as related data. Those skilled in theart know how to implement these various components. Other components mayalso be included as is well known to those skilled in the art. Further,in some implementations, the data store 1184 can be part of any one ofthe servers.

In this exemplary embodiment, the mobile device 800 communicates withthe host system 480 through node 1002 of the wireless network 850 and ashared network infrastructure 1124 such as a service provider network orthe public Internet. Access to the host system 480 may be providedthrough one or more routers (not shown), and computing devices of thehost system 480 may operate from behind a firewall or proxy server 1166.The proxy server 1166 provides a secure node and a wireless internetgateway for the host system 480. The proxy server 1166 intelligentlyroutes data to the correct destination server within the host system480.

In some implementations, the host system 480 can include a wireless VPNrouter (not shown) to facilitate data exchange between the host system480 and the mobile device 800. The wireless VPN router allows a VPNconnection to be established directly through a specific wirelessnetwork to the mobile device 800. The wireless VPN router can be usedwith the Internet Protocol (IP) Version 6 (IPV6) and IP-based wirelessnetworks. This protocol can provide enough IP addresses so that eachmobile device has a dedicated IP address, making it possible to pushinformation to a mobile device at any time. An advantage of using awireless VPN router is that it can be an off-the-shelf VPN component,and does not require a separate wireless gateway and separate wirelessinfrastructure. A VPN connection can preferably be a TransmissionControl Protocol (TCP)/IP or User Datagram Protocol (UDP)/IP connectionfor delivering the messages directly to the mobile device 800 in thisalternative implementation.

Messages intended for a user of the mobile device 800 are initiallyreceived by a message server 1168 of the host system 480. Such messagesmay originate from any number of sources. For instance, a message mayhave been sent by a sender from the computer 1162 b within the hostsystem 480, from a different mobile device (not shown) connected to thewireless network 850 or a different wireless network, or from adifferent computing device, or other device capable of sending messages,via the shared network infrastructure 1124, possibly through anapplication service provider (ASP) or Internet service provider (ISP),for example.

The message server 1168 typically acts as the primary interface for theexchange of messages, particularly e-mail messages, within theorganization and over the shared network infrastructure 1124. Each userin the organization that has been set up to send and receive messages istypically associated with a user account managed by the message server1168. Some exemplary implementations of the message server 1168 includea Microsoft Exchange™ server, a Lotus Domino™ server, a NovellGroupwise™ server, or another suitable mail server installed in acorporate environment. In some implementations, the host system 480 maycomprise multiple message servers 1168. The message server 1168 may alsobe adapted to provide additional functions beyond message management,including the management of data associated with calendars and tasklists, for example.

When messages are received by the message server 1168, they aretypically stored in a data store associated with the message server1168. In at least some embodiments, the data store may be a separatehardware unit, such as data store 1184, that the message server 1168communicates with. Messages can be subsequently retrieved and deliveredto users by accessing the message server 1168. For instance, an e-mailclient application operating on a user's computer 1162 a may request thee-mail messages associated with that user's account stored on the datastore associated with the message server 1168. These messages are thenretrieved from the data store and stored locally on the computer 1162 a.The data store associated with the message server 1168 can store copiesof each message that is locally stored on the mobile device 800.Alternatively, the data store associated with the message server 1168can store all of the messages for the user of the mobile device 800 andonly a smaller number of messages can be stored on the mobile device 800to conserve memory. For instance, the most recent messages (i.e., thosereceived in the past two to three months for example) can be stored onthe mobile device 800.

When operating the mobile device 800, the user may wish to have e-mailmessages retrieved for delivery to the mobile device 800. The messageapplication 838 operating on the mobile device 800 may also requestmessages associated with the user's account from the message server1168. The message application 838 may be configured (either by the useror by an administrator, possibly in accordance with an organization'sinformation technology (IT) policy) to make this request at thedirection of the user, at some pre-defined time interval, or upon theoccurrence of some pre-defined event. In some implementations, themobile device 800 is assigned its own e-mail address, and messagesaddressed specifically to the mobile device 800 are automaticallyredirected to the mobile device 800 as they are received by the messageserver 1168.

The message management server 1172 can be used to specifically providesupport for the management of messages, such as e-mail messages, thatare to be handled by mobile devices. Generally, while messages are stillstored on the message server 1168, the message management server 1172can be used to control when, if, and how messages are sent to the mobiledevice 800. The message management server 1172 also facilitates thehandling of messages composed on the mobile device 800, which are sentto the message server 1168 for subsequent delivery.

For example, the message management server 1172 may monitor the user's“mailbox” (e.g. the message store associated with the user's account onthe message server 1168) for new e-mail messages, and applyuser-definable filters to new messages to determine if and how themessages are relayed to the user's mobile device 800. The messagemanagement server 1172 may also compress and encrypt new messages (e.g.using an encryption technique such as Data Encryption Standard (DES),Triple DES, or Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)) and push them to themobile device 800 via the shared network infrastructure 1124 and thewireless network 850. The message management server 1172 may alsoreceive messages composed on the mobile device 800 (e.g. encrypted usingTriple DES), decrypt and decompress the composed messages, re-format thecomposed messages if desired so that they will appear to have originatedfrom the user's computer 1162 a, and re-route the composed messages tothe message server 1168 for delivery.

Certain properties or restrictions associated with messages that are tobe sent from and/or received by the mobile device 800 can be defined(e.g. by an administrator in accordance with IT policy) and enforced bythe message management server 1172. These may include whether the mobiledevice 800 may receive encrypted and/or signed messages, minimumencryption key sizes, whether outgoing messages must be encrypted and/orsigned, and whether copies of all secure messages sent from the mobiledevice 800 are to be sent to a pre-defined copy address, for example.

The message management server 1172 may also be adapted to provide othercontrol functions, such as only pushing certain message information orpre-defined portions (e.g. “blocks”) of a message stored on the messageserver 1168 to the mobile device 800. For example, in some cases, when amessage is initially retrieved by the mobile device 800 from the messageserver 1168, the message management server 1172 may push only the firstpart of a message to the mobile device 800, with the part being of apre-defined size (e.g. 2 KB). The user can then request that more of themessage be delivered in similar-sized blocks by the message managementserver 1172 to the mobile device 800, possibly up to a maximumpredefined message size. Accordingly, the message management server 1172facilitates better control over the type of data and the amount of datathat is communicated to the mobile device 800, and can help to minimizepotential waste of bandwidth or other resources.

The mobile data server 1174 encompasses any other server that storesinformation that is relevant to the corporation. The mobile data server1174 may include, but is not limited to, databases, online data documentrepositories, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, orenterprise resource planning (ERP) applications.

The contact server 1176 can provide information for a list of contactsfor the user in a similar fashion as the address book on the mobiledevice 800. Accordingly, for a given contact, the contact server 1176can include the name, phone number, work address and e-mail address ofthe contact, among other information. The contact server 1176 can alsoprovide a global address list that contains the contact information forall of the contacts associated with the host system 480.

It will be understood by persons skilled in the art that the messagemanagement server 1172, the mobile data server 1174, the contact server1176, the device manager module 1178, the data store 1184 and the ITpolicy server 1186 do not need to be implemented on separate physicalservers within the host system 480. For example, some or all of thefunctions associated with the message management server 1172 may beintegrated with the message server 1168, or some other server in thehost system 480. Alternatively, the host system 840 may comprisemultiple message management servers 1172, particularly in variantimplementations where a large number of mobile devices need to besupported.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, the IT policy server 1186 canprovide the IT policy editor 1180, the IT user property editor 1182 andthe data store 1184. In some cases, the IT policy server 1186 can alsoprovide the device manager module 1178. The processor 1188 can executethe editors 1180 and 1182. In some cases, the functionality of theeditors 1180 and 1182 can be provided by a single editor. In some cases,the memory unit 1192 can provide the data store 1184.

The device manager module 1178 provides an IT administrator with agraphical user interface with which the IT administrator interacts toconfigure various settings for the mobile devices 800. As mentioned, theIT administrator can use IT policy rules to define behaviors of certainapplications on the mobile device 800 that are permitted such as phone,web browser or Instant Messenger use. The IT policy rules can also beused to set specific values for configuration settings that anorganization requires on the mobile devices 800 such as auto signaturetext, WLAN/VoIP/VPN configuration, security requirements (e.g.encryption algorithms, password rules, etc.), specifying themes orapplications that are allowed to run on the mobile device 800, and thelike.

While preferred embodiments have been specifically described andillustrated herein, it should be apparent that many modifications to theembodiments can be made. For example, while the preferred embodimentsillustrated herein have been limited to the processing of voice (packetor circuit switched) calls, it should be readily apparent that any formof call (e.g., audio, video, data) may be processed through server 30 toany communication device (e.g., cellular phone, pager,office/residential landline telephone, computer terminal, personaldigital assistant (PDA), RIM device, etc.). The individual method stepsof the exemplary operational flows illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6G may beinterchanged in order, combined, replaced or even added. Any number ofdifferent operations not illustrated herein may be performed. Moreover,the method steps may be performed by hardware, software, firmware or anycombinations of hardware, software, firmware or logic elements.

In addition, while the illustrated embodiments have demonstratedimplementations using PBX-based communication systems, it should bereadily apparent that the server module may be connected (directly,indirectly, co-located, or remotely) with any other network switchingdevice or communication system used to process calls such as a centralswitching office, centrex system, or Internet server for telephone callsmade over the public switched telephone network, private telephonenetworks, or even Internet Protocol (IP) telephony networks made overthe Internet. It should be understood by those skilled in the art thatthe embodiments disclosed do not need a PBX to operate or to perform anyof the processing described above. All that is required is a properlyprogrammed server 30.

It should be apparent that, while only PRI lines (e.g., between PBX 14and server 30, between PBX 14 and PSTN 16) have been illustrated indiscussing the preferred embodiments, these communication lines (as wellas any other communication lines or media discussed herein) may be ofany form, format, or medium (e.g., PRI, T1, OC3, electrical, optical,wired, wireless, digital, analog, etc.). Moreover, although PSTN 16, 54are depicted as separate networks for illustration purposes, it shouldbe readily apparent that a single PSTN network alone may be used inpractice. It should be noted that the server 30 could trunk back to thePBX 14 instead of being directly connected to the PSTN 54. The use of acommercial wireless carrier network (represented by wireless switch 58and antenna 60) as described herein may be implemented using one or morecommercial carriers using the same or different signaling protocols(e.g., Sprint/Nextel, etc.) depending on the communication devicesregistered with the system.

The modules described herein such as the modules making up server 30, aswell as server 30 and PBX 14 themselves, may be one or more hardware,software, or hybrid components residing in (or distributed among) one ormore local or remote systems. It should be readily apparent that themodules may be combined (e.g., server 30 and PBX 14) or furtherseparated into a variety of different components, sharing differentresources (including processing units, memory, clock devices, softwareroutines, etc.) as required for the particular implementation of theembodiments disclosed herein. Indeed, even a single general purposecomputer executing a computer program stored on a recording medium toproduce the functionality and any other memory devices referred toherein may be utilized to implement the illustrated embodiments. Userinterface devices utilized by in or in conjunction with server 30 may beany device used to input and/or output information. The interfacedevices may be implemented as a graphical user interface (GUI)containing a display or the like, or may be a link to other userinput/output devices known in the art.

Furthermore, memory units employed by the system may be any one or moreof the known storage devices (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM), ReadOnly Memory (ROM), hard disk drive (HDD), floppy drive, zip drive,compact disk-ROM, DVD, bubble memory, etc.), and may also be one or morememory devices embedded within a CPU, or shared with one or more of theother components.

1. A method of operating a communication server operable to maintaincommunication between at least two devices, the method comprising:receiving a first incoming call for a first communication device at thecommunication server; routing the first incoming call for the firstcommunication device to a second communication device associated withthe first communication device; receiving a park data signal from thesecond communication device for placing a call to park; parking the callto park; and sending a park reminder message to the first communicationdevice.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein sending a park remindermessage comprises sending the park reminder message with an indicationof a length of time the call has been parked.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising receiving a park reminder message response from thefirst communication device in response to receiving the park remindermessage.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein receiving the park remindermessage response comprises receiving the response with a request forterminating the sending of the park reminder message.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the park reminder message causes an alerton the communication device.
 6. The method according to claim 5, whereinthe alert comprises an audible tone.
 7. The method according to claim 5,wherein the alert comprises a vibrational alert.
 8. The method accordingto claim 5, wherein the alert comprises a pop-up menu.
 9. The methodaccording to claim 5, wherein the alert comprises a displayed symbol.10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sending a park remindermessage occurs a predetermined length of time after receiving the parkdata signal.
 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the park datasignal includes an indication of the predetermined length of time. 12.The method according to claim 10, wherein the park reminder messageresponse includes an indication of the predetermined length of time. 13.The method according to claim 10, further comprising repeating thesending step periodically, after the predetermined length of time. 14.The method according to claim 5, further comprising determining thealert type on the basis of settings maintained at the communicationdevice.
 15. The method according to claim 1, further comprisingdetermining an alert type on the basis of settings accompanying the parkreminder message response.
 16. The method according to claim 4, furthercomprising terminating a sending of park reminder messages in responseto the request for terminating the sending of park reminder messages.17. The method according to claim 1, wherein the call placed to park isthe first incoming call.
 18. A telecommunication server comprising: aprocessor configured to: receive a first incoming call for a firstcommunication device at the communication server; route the firstincoming call for the first communication device to a secondcommunication device associated with the first communication device;receive a park data signal from the second communication device forplacing a call to park; park the call to park; and send a park remindermessage to the first communication device.